The Moon

[oedipa]

I got this as part of a swap with pink.owl - one of two Tarot oils, which I'm glad to review.

 

Wet on skin: Oooh! Sweet (honeysuckle?) and jasmine and overall goodness.

 

10 minutes: Oh, no. The jasmine is attacking. Call for reinforcements! It's pretty clear that if a scent has a very prominent note like musk (Hymn to Proserpine), amber (Lotus Moon), or jasmine (Nyx, Tarot: The Moon), my skin will amp the everloving crap out of it until that's all I can smell.

 

30 minutes: Burnt plastic. Heady jasmine with a definite undertone of something burnt and scortched in the microwave. Alas!

 

2 hours +: Gone by this time, fortunately.

 

Overall, way too much jasmine and burn-y smells. However...I got the notion to use it last night while dealing out some simple Tarot spreads and yikes! Scarily accurate readings all around - I felt like the cards were slapping me in the face saying, "Lord love a duck, woman! You know this shit already!". So while I probably won't be wearing this for scent anytime soon, I think I'll be using the decant I have for any further late-night readings.

[edenssixthday]

The Moon - At first sniff in the vial, this reminded me of the Celestial Luna. It smells like heady, white jasmine through-and-through. When I apply it to my skin, I'm instantly surprised that I am actually kind of enjoying the strong, heady, and almost-overpowering scent, and that's when I realize that what I'm smelling is not predominantly jasmine, but magnolia with a touch of jasmine in it and a touch of gardenia as well. And as I'm wearing it and going about my business, I keep smelling the uber-sweet, fruit-sweet scent of lotus. In fact, the longer I wear it, the more it becomes predominantly a lotus scent. When I sniff my skin up close, I smell the heady white florals, but they stick close to my skin, and the scent that wafts about me is actually a gorgeous sweet lotus with a thin ribbon of vanilla running through it. What a fascinating and complex blend. I never thought I'd enjoy something so much with magnolia, gardenia and jasmine in it -- three of my least favorite notes. Will wonders never cease? Fabulous scent. I look forward to enjoying it for a long time to come.

[nightbird]

the Moon is my very favorite Tarot card, so I was looking forward to this oil!

 

however... it's not for me. I think there's jasmine in here, and that note just doesn't smell good on me; its gets overpowering and way too flowery. it's a very feminine scent, somewhat watery.

[supremegoddessofall]

Strong and not very pleasant. It smells like grapes, lemons, and vetiver got into a fight and no one won. Ick.

[wikkidraven]

i was very kindly frimped the moon in a swap off the forum, but it's taken me a couple of weeks to get around to trying this. the jasmine immediately comes across, i'm not very good with individual notes but i'm going to take a stab and say vanilla or magnolia, with a hint of spice and greenery. i don't think i understand the association this scent has in representing the moon...but all that aside, the oil itself is hardly unpleasant. i wore it today because i was feeling girly, and i think i found something appropriate

 

i'm not sure that i would buy a bottle, but i'll keep my imp around.

[jasmine]

Wet, I pick up violets immediately, which makes me regretful. (I’ve learned that I don’t like violets -- it seems to be the “toilet cleaner” note that I’ve mentioned in another review or two.) In the time it takes me to complain about the violets, a white floral arrives, and it immediately subdues the violets. Goodness... I hardly expected so prompt a response to my complaint!

 

As quickly as it manifested, the floral calms down. I detect a faint, cool breath of frankincense at the very top of the scent, and, below that, the white floral, which I think is gardenia... it might be jasmine, but , if it’s jasmine, it’s a different jasmine variant than I’ve gotten to know, since jasmine is usually so incredibly aggressive on me. Gardenia seems more likely, though I can’t confidently pick out the difference between the two in a blend. Below that, there are still traces of violets, but it’s not an offensive violet at all... just a soft, purplish tinge in the white floral. I think there’s lavender, too. The color of this scent is definitely pale, pastel purple.

 

As a bit more time passes, I think I’m picking up a trace of wood underneath this, but I’m not sure. It’s becoming a bit less creamy and a bit more ethereal. I don’t mind the change. It still has good throw, though. I’ve lost the hint of frankincense.

 

Given the behavior of this white floral (by which I mean, the way it’s not thoroughly dominating and slaying all other scents around it), I speculate that this white floral might actually be a blend of white florals -- gardenia dominant, with a bit of jasmine and maybe some magnolia. I won’t swear to it, though.

 

I don’t see this as a scent I would want to wear around other people. It’s more of a meditative, quiet, contemplative scent... not outright for sleep, but for calm, late hours. Though it isn’t a social scent, it’s very nice, and it suits its name well.

[theseagrows]

this is very strong and smells like tuberose, gardenia and anise at first. when it dries i feel like i sense some lavender in the background, or something a touch herbal-spicy. as it dries the gardenia is everpresent and now there's a spicy-powdery scent that i can't place. it reminds me of some moonflower bath gel i tried from the body shop once, so maybe that's what that note is? this is like pale shining white in darkness and evokes the moon beautifully.

[The_Merf]

In the imp: Jasmine! Wowzers--also something light to back it up. This reminds me of Eos, not New Orleans.

 

Wet: There's a blast of what is, to my nose, myrrh, that vanishes very quickly and gives way to lots and lots of jasmine.

 

Drydown and wear: There must be something rosey underneath this, because I am reminded of Nyx. In fact, this oil strikes me as a blend of New Orleans, Nyx and Eos. Jasmine and a bouquet of florals.

[cranberry]

Wow, wet this starts out as a strong, assertive, piercing floral – gardenia or jasmine, or a combination of the two. Oftentimes, jasmine overpowers me and I just can’t take it. It doesn’t get like that here. It stays pretty true – only growing softer and fainter on me as it wears. It fades quickly and after about a ½ hour it’s just a faint whisper.

[naeelah]

In the bottle and when it first hits the skin, this is extremely medicinal. It smells just like cough syrup. Maybe that's the anise? Luckily, this evaporates right away.

 

Wet, this is all MY GARDENIAS, LET ME SHOW YOU THEM!

 

On the drydown, the floral note begins to calm down and deepen a little. I think there's more than gardenia here, some other sweet white floral, but I couldn't say what. They blend very well, but the top floral note is definitely gardenia. I don't get any jasmine, honeysuckle, or magnolia, but bpal's jasmine often blends almost imperceptibly with gardenia, to my nose.

 

As I breathe the scent in, I don't smell anything spicy but I can feel it in the back of my throat. It's really interesting. I kept sniffing and looking for pepper or anise, but never really found it. I could pick up a very, very faint touch of something in the background. I think possibly it's white pepper. I can smell just the slightest hint of the licoricey anise. The character is definitely floral, for me. The spice just serves to make the florals richer.

 

It has good throw at first, definitely very aggressive gardenia. It has been about 2 hours and the gardenia is much more agreeable, but still has decent throw. I think this will have better than average lifespan.

 

It's so interesting how changeable this is on different people. Definitely fitting of the "inconstant moon". I can't really comment on its relevance or application to tarot, but it's a lovely scent, if you like gardenia. I'm definitely glad I picked this one up! It would be beautiful in a lotion.

Edited July 10, 2007 by naeelah

[Vampy]

Oh, wow. This is just - just! Gorgeous!

 

I didn't expect to like this one, as florals aren't usually my thing, but it's one of my favorite tarot cards so I bought a half an imp from a decant circle anyway. Now I'm hoping I can find some more of it somewhere!

 

In the vial it smells cool and glowing and white, a pleasant gentle floral mix, and something that actually makes the inside of my nose a little cold, but it's faint enough I can't identify it - a touch of anise? mint? I'm not sure. I still wasn't trusting it, as florals are apt to go splodey on my skin into headache inducing awfulness. I put just a little on, and it went splodey, but not in a bad way at all - oh, it was like nectar, so watery and sweet it made me want to DRINK it. Fortunately I abstained.

 

I'm not familiar with that many florals, so I can't name all what's in here - I am sure, however, that the dominant note on my skin smells like honeysuckle. It starts out creamy white and morphs to nectary water, making me think of a burbling stream with moonlight shining on it.

 

LOVE.

[hellomoonglow]

I just opened my mail and found the bottle I had gotten from a wonderful forumite has arrived! Yipee! First off, I love the label art. It's perfect. Secondly, this has such a strong smell on me, I'm having a bit of a hard time wearing it. I smell jasmine, and also coconut. And it's a bit soapy. I don't know what's in here that is giving me whafts of coconut, but that's ok - I love coconut. I actually really like this, but it is quite strong. I'm hoping it dies down to a dull roar. My office buddy is sniffling and not sure she likes it.

 

As a side note, she said, "Is that just one oil or did you mix them?" I assured her that this oil needed no complimentary scents!

Edited February 25, 2008 by hellomoonglow

[suki]

in the bottle: jasmine, gardenia, honeysuckle.

 

wet on skin: the jasmine is becoming more of the dark Indian variety, and the Gardenia is just fabulous, as it usually is in BPAL blends!

 

dry down: gardenia mixed with a touch of white coconut and tempered by a drop of Indian jasmine.

 

in all: totally gorgeous, absolutely perfect for a scent based on this particularly mysterious Tarot card.

 

 

 

[zankoku_zen]

Erm. This has magnolia and JASMINE OF DOOM.

 

I'm going to wash this off, cuz I really can't handle this.

[stellans]

I get nothing except jasmine, both in the bottle and on my skin. Maybe a bit of gardenia peeking out under the sourness of jasmine, but no lavender and no evergreen -- pine or otherwise. Fortunately, the sourness of this jasmine blend seems to settle down and sweeten up before I feel forced to wash it off, but this will not be a favorite go-to blend, sadly. I love the Moon card, and what it stands for, and what it brings to my life, but I only tolerate the scent. And it doesn't work in my scent locket at all. Edited June 5, 2010 by stellans